Negotiations are an everyday necessity in the world of business. An entrepreneur can easily fail based solely on poor planning and communication. Large companies, although shielded somewhat by volume sales, are now more sensitive to wasted resources than ever before. Most would agree that good policies and procedures help to mitigate risk. However, no matter how they are stipulated, they are only as strong as the consensus that exists between the involved parties. tekAura's mock negotiation presents a typical independent software consultant contract negotiation. Elevator Music - David O' Brien - YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65Gf2qRGFk Freesound.org - "Office 11 080529.wav" by LG. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.freesound.org/people/LG/sounds/54534/ Freesound.org - "Sounds at the office" by rastataper. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.freesound.org/people/rastataper/sounds/62225/